The chairman of the Senate education committee has filed a bill postponing the next generation of standardized tests until schools have the technology in place.
The chairman of the Senate education committee has introduced a bill postponing the next generation of standardized tests until Florida schools prove they have technology and broadband capable of handling the computerized tests.
Sen. John Legg’s bill, S.B. 1630, would require school and district information technology systems “be load tested and independently verified as appropriate, adequate, efficient, and sustainable” to handle the new test.
Education students at the University of Central Florida are learning how to use books and other materials to design lessons which meet Common Core standards. A survey of educators found most teachers were familiar with the new standards, and most had received at least two days of training on the new standards.
Seven out of ten educators in a national survey said they have had at least two days of training for new, tougher education standards adopted by Florida and 44 other states.
But more than half of those surveyed disagreed that their textbooks and curriculum were aligned with the new standards.
The poll surveyed educators about how familiar they are with the Common Core State Standards. The standards are intended to be tougher, teaching fewer topics but expecting students to be able to demonstrate their knowledge and use evidence to defend their reasoning.
The standards will also allow for better comparison of student performance from state to state and internationally.
Florida schools have fully introduced the standards in kindergarten and first grade, with all grades scheduled to move to the new standards by the fall of 2014.
According to the poll, nearly one in four surveyed said they were not familiar with the Common Core math standards. Just 8 percent said they were not familiar with the Common Core English language arts standards. Similar percentages of teachers said they were not familiar with their current state standards.
March 1 is the deadline for Congress to strike a budget deal or a series of automatic spending cuts totaling $1.2 trillion over a decade takes effect.
The cuts — known as sequestration — would hit military spending, courts, national parks and K-12 and early childhood education programs. That includes Head Start, the federal early childhood education program.
We spoke with Louis Finney, director of the Hillsborough County Head Start program about what the cuts would mean for the 3,500 children enrolled in the program and its roughly 700 employees.
We also asked him about President Barack Obama’s proposal to expand early childhood education programs.
When the sniping against new state education standards begins, Florida's business leaders were told not to abandon their foxholes.
The Florida Council of 100 held a summit Wednesday in Orlando to discuss Florida’s transition to new education requirements known as Common Core State Standards.
Advocates say the standards focus on deeper knowledge of fewer subjects, and not only ask students what they know but to prove how they know it.
Kelli Wells with the GE Foundation says businesses need to stand up for new education standards, particularly if educators and politicians get nervous about falling test scores.
Businesses need to support school districts as they switch to new, tougher education standards which will help stock American companies with a competitive workforce.
That’s what Kelli Wells, who heads education efforts for the GE Foundation, told a Florida business group at an Orlando discussion of Common Core State Standards.
Florida, 44 states and the District of Columbia have fully adopted Common Core standards for math and English language arts. The standards focus on deeper knowledge of fewer subjects, and not only ask students what they know but to prove how they know it.
The standards, speakers said, emphasize focus, coherence and rigor. They are also designed to allow better comparisons between states, and to foreign students.
But while the change is necessary and worthwhile, Wells said it won’t be easy. Businesses need to back up politicians and schools districts who might become wobbly when fewer students are passing the new, tougher standardized tests which will accompany Common Core.
The Broward Center for the Performing Arts filled up early for the Session 2013 Town Hall hosted by WLRN and The Miami Herald.
The Florida Legislature convenes next week for its annual 60-day session.
Education will be among the key issues getting lawmakers’ attention.
The Miami Herald and WLRN radio hosted a town hall meeting this week in Fort Lauderdale featuring three panelists – Senate majority leader Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater; Senate minority leader Chris Smith, D-Oakland Park; and Mary Ellen Klas, Tallahassee bureau chief for The Miami Herald.
Moderator Phil Latzman, Sen. Chris Smith, Sen. Jack Latvala, and The Miami Herald's Mary Ellen Klas made up the town hall panel.
Education took up a big chunk of the Fort Lauderdale town hall Monday hosted by WLRN and The Miami Herald.
Topics ranged from college affordability to K-12 funding to teacher raises.
Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Chief Mary Ellen Klas ran through some ideas lawmakers are considering.
“Gov. Scott has proposed an initiative that would give us a promise of $10,000 degrees, and several community colleges have signed on to basically promise a degree in four years that would not cost more than $10,000,” Klas said.
“There are some other initiatives as well. The Senate is heavily pushing an effort to tie any kind of degree with the job market,” Klas continued, “and they want to find incentives for students to take courses of study that are going to give them jobs.
Teachers will be able to give DOE their opinions about the new system, which bases 50 percent of their evaluations on student performance. Eventually, teachers will be paid based on their evaluations.
All public schools, including charters, must comply with evaluation standards in the Student Success Act of 2011 (Senate Bill 736) starting next year. The new rules will go into effect this summer, giving districts time to make any necessary changes.
Tonight’s the Town Hall on Session 2013, live from Fort Lauderdale.
Florida legislative leaders and journalists from the Miami Herald and WLRN Radio will discuss the big issues lawmakers plan to tackle during the 60-day session that begins Tuesday, March 5th.
Education will be one of the biggest policy issues this year. Lawmakers will answer your questions about topics like the parent trigger bill, teacher evaluations, and Common Core standards.
Radio listeners can hear the discussion at 6:30PM on WLRN 91.3FM and stations across the state.
Malcolm Calvert was in 7th grade when he got into an argument with his 6th grade friend on a school bus and hit him with a Tootsie Pop.
“I hit him with it on his head,” recalls Malcolm, who was a student at Lanier James Alternative School in Hallandale Beach, Fla., when the Tootsie Pop incident happened in 2011. “They handcuffed me and took me off the school bus.” Continue reading →
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